Denis Lebel

[Budget, March 20th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, when we spend more money than we are taking in that is called a deficit in both of Canada's official languages.

This government has lost control of spending and now it needs to create new revenues or cut credits for families. I can hardly wait for Wednesday's budget to see what cuts Canadian families will have to endure after losing their tax credits for sports and culture.

What new cuts will we see? What will these families be in for when they wake up Thursday morning after the budget is brought down?

[Taxation, March 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election campaign, Canadians were promised a $10-billion deficit and a return to balance within a few years. There was talk of 2019.

An election is coming. Canadians will surely remember that promise and small business owners will remember the promise to lower their taxes. It seems that the Prime Minister is going to break that promise as well.

Will they cut small business taxes in order to create jobs?

[Taxation, March 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control of government spending. Giving money away is easy when you do not have any. Future generations, our children and grandchildren, are going to be the ones to pay for it.

Where I come from, if you spend more money than you bring in, the bank comes and takes the keys to your house or your car. That is not a problem for this government, however; it just keeps adding to the debt and saying that it will take care of it years from now. However, we are going to try to make sure that the Conservatives are back in power before then.

Is the Prime Minister going to punish Canadian families by eliminating even more of the tax credits they need?

[Taxation, March 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister previously said that budgets balance themselves. He said that during the election campaign before he became Prime Minister. He must admit now that budgets do not balance themselves.

We hear that the government is eliminating pension income splitting for seniors in an effort to balance its budget. I hope that the government is not attacking those who built this country.

Is it true that the government wants to get rid of income splitting?

[Forestry Industry, February 22nd, 2017]

That was not an answer, Mr. Speaker. There is another matter that is of great concern to us. Not only are forestry workers across the country having to deal with the uncertainty around the softwood lumber agreement with the U.S., but now, they can add the woodland caribou to their list of concerns. In 2015, our former government announced the introduction of a measure to increase our knowledge on the issue, which we had been hearing about for some time. This government often says it bases its decisions on scientific evidence, and yet, we do not know enough about the caribou.

Will this government give itself the tools it needs to gain a better understanding of the situation of the woodland caribou in Canada and not cut jobs? I hope they will do their homework before making cuts.

[Taxation, February 22nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, people are nervous about the upcoming budget and rightly so. This government has some interesting plans. The Prime Minister just referred to the 1% tax increase for the wealthiest Canadians. He failed to mention that he miscalculated and is off by $2 billion, so he has to run $20-billion deficits. Seniors are worried about pension income splitting.

Is the government going to go after seniors, or will it allow them to split their pension income? This is very important to people who have to make ends meet solely on this income.

[Finance, February 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the deficit is three times higher than what the government said it would be during the election campaign. That is quite something. The original $10 billion was already far too much.

The government plans to return to a balanced budget on the 12th of never. It is not sure when exactly, because it has no plan. The government is spending like crazy and throwing money out the window. It is future generations who will pay the price.

What does the Prime Minister plan to do to eliminate the deficit?

[Taxation, February 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, thanks to our opposition, the government has backed down on its plan to bring in a new tax on health and dental benefits. However, the Liberals still need money. They still need to look for new revenue streams, and of course middle-class Canadians are going to be the ones to pay for it. Which tax credit will the government have to eliminate to try to pay down the deficit?

[International Trade, February 16th, 2017]

I would appreciate an answer, too, Mr. Speaker.

Will the minister put supply management on the table, yes or no?

[International Trade, February 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I asked an important question yesterday, but of course I did not get an answer from the government. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, indicated that he had spoken with the minister about improving access to the dairy market. Did the minister put supply management on the table? Can the government please stop repeating its talking points and finally give Canadians a real answer?